Banished Kingdom of the Kell
The Banished Kingdom of the Kell, also known as the Banished Kingdom of Kelldria, is a successor state in exile of the former Grand Kingdom of Kell. History The Kell maintain no written records of the past save those on their bodies, and those are of limited value for anyone seeking information about anything detailed. To describe them as illiterate would perhaps be ungenerous, for they have a form of symbolic runic communication used both for scarification and as a form of communication between groups, to mark territory, post warnings or even sometimes to pass on insults. This writing, such as it is, is however anything but florid and usually only temporary in nature. The Kell history is thus almost entirely oral, with all the unreliability that comes from that. The following is their history as they tell it. Long ago there was a grand Kell kingdom further to the north. This was a fertile and pleasant territory where their people flourished, and which came under attack from the Salterri, a nearby people jealous of the Kell's prosperity. The Kell sought allies to defend against the Salterri, but few answered. Most infamous among them was the Kingdom of Lyradis, a nation of cowards who chose to flee before them rather than stand and fight. The Salterri were powerful warriors of endless number, and they ultimately pushed the Kell people to the verge of extinction, driving them almost to the ends of the earth until they came upon Sovrassia. Millions of Kell were lost in the war, slain or enslaved, and hundreds of thousands more perished in the first months and years in the new land, killed by the cold, exhaustion and starvation. After the Great Betrayal, the Kell were reduced to a pitiful shadow of their former selves, their golden age ended, never to come again. Their best and bravest had been killed in the war, and the accumulated wisdom and history of their people perished with their elders on the long trek south. Those who survived were the best of the remnants, but remnants nevertheless. They dedicated their efforts to establishing themselves in the new land. The native people were quickly killed or subjugated. Mines were established in the hills, and fishing camps along the rivers. It was a long and painful process, but slowly, cut off from the world, they began to rebuild some of their strength, creating their banished kingdom of Kelldria. Still they never stopped dreaming of the land they had lost. After hundreds of years of exile a powerful warrior named Vapeema became Argulus, and assembled the largest army the Kell had mustered since the days of the old kingdom. Under his leadership they ventured northwards in search of their old lands. The scattered tribes they encountered in the south were no match for the ferocious Kell warriors, with those who tried to resist quickly cut down, and thousands of the wild folk were driven ahead of the advancing Kell army. When they reached the north, however, the Kell were confronted by an allied army of their ancient foes, the Salterri and Lyr. Hopelessly outnumbered, their bronze spears set against mithril, the Kell army was destroyed, Vapeema himself taken prisoner and those who had followed in hope retreated south in disarray. A new Argulus was chosen, named Evander. It was under him that the crisis was compounded, for he received an offer from the Salterri to allow the Kell passage to fertile lands to the west. Evander himself took the offer for an insult, but tens of thousands wished to accept. After months of debate which threatened to shatter the assembled tribes altogether, Evander agreed to allow those who wanted to accept to leave. From that day forward the Kell people would be sundered, with those who had turned their back on their people and their traditions to live subject to a foreign power henceforward known among the people of their birth as Kalkell. The Kalkell were given a distinguishing mark and sent on their way. Their desertion remains a sore point with many of Evander's people. Their contact with the world having proved nothing but disastrous, the grand army lost, and tens of thousands of Kalkell having gone into exile, Evander reinstated the long-held policy of isolation, refusing all but the sparsest contact with foreign kingdoms. And so it remained until such time as explorers from the north-east penetrated into Kell territory in the early sixth century. Legendary Heroes Much of the older Kell history is in the form of legends, usually centred around great heroes. Of course, like any such legendarium, some of the stories are almost certainly the amalgamation of the deeds of several individuals, or created to explain some phenomenon the true cause of which is otherwise forgotten, as suggested by their adoption in some cases of rather archetypal roles. Such heroes include: 'Kellan' The founding father of the Kell people, usually described as a giant, and sometimes as the son of the gods. He conquered a hundred cities and took twenty brides from each; from his thousands of children the Kell people are descended, and from him they take their name. 'Argor' The first king of the old kingdom of Kelldria, who, depending on the version in question, led the Kell people to the green lands, or united the Kell tribes into a single kingdom. It is from his name that the Kell leader is said to derive his title of Argulus. 'Heero' The martyr. The last Argulus to die while still ruler of the grand kingdom. Valiantly defended his lands and people against everything the Salterri could muster, before being slain by treachery. 'Gilgara' The saviour of the people. The Argulus who took charge of the migration following the Kell's final defeat by the Imperium, leading them to Sovrassia and conquering the useless natives. Led an expedition beyond the Paraxena, attempting to find solace for the sorry tribes, and will return in their hour of need. According to some versions, was a woman. 'Vapeema' The heroic warrior. Argulus during the recent great migration, during which the Kell conquered much territory and came within sight of the lost lands before being defeated, in a struggle against impossible odds, in a ferocious battle where he took the head of the opposing commander. A true Kell to the end. Category:Realms Category:NPCs